The United States men's national team has about as optimistic a scenario as it could ask for heading into the final game of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, given its occasional struggles throughout the process.

A win Tuesday night at Trinidad and Tobago (8 p.m. ET, beIN Sports) will send the U.S. to Russia for next summer's World Cup, plain and simple. Road wins are tough to come by in CONCACAF, but T&T has been by far the worst side in this stage of qualifying, and the U.S. is 17-2-4 all-time against the island nation.

World Cup qualifying standings — CONCACAF

TEAM

W

L

D

GD

PTS

Mexico

6

0

3

+10

21

Costa Rica

4

1

4

+7

16

United States

3

3

3

+5

12

Panama

2

3

4

-2

10

Honduras

2

3

4

-7

10

Trinidad and Tobago

1

8

0

-13

3

There's no question about the expected result for the U.S. on Tuesday, but should Bruce Arena's team emerge with a draw or a loss, there is still hope for automatic qualification to Russia.

The top three teams in the hexagonal move on to Russia, and Mexico and Costa Rica already have clinched their spots. The fourth-place team will face Australia in a home-and-home series for the final spot in the World Cup field.

U.S. World Cup qualifying scenarios

U.S. win vs. T&T

The U.S. clinches the third spot and a trip to Russia

U.S. draw vs. T&T

The U.S. clinches the third spot as long as Panama and/or Honduras don't beat Costa Rica and Mexico, respectively, AND make up their goal-differential deficits to the U.S.

U.S. loss vs. T&T

The U.S. clinches the third spot as long as Panama and Honduras both lose or draw. A win by either of them would move them past the U.S. and into an automatic qualifying spot. As long as Panama and Honduras don't both win, the U.S. would still finish fourth and reach the playoff against Australia.